Road-cart



(No Model.)

W. H. WHITFIELD 8 M. MOOORMIIGKI. ROADGART.

No. 461,462. Patented Oct. 20,1891.

WJZWESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. IVHITFIELD AND MICHAEL MCCORMICK, OF PENN YAN,

NEXV YORK.

ROAD-CART.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,462, dated October 20, 1891.

Application filed June 25, 1891- Serial No. 397,445. (No model.)

To all whom,- z't may concern.-

Be it known that we, WIL IAM l'Ll/VHIT- FIELD and MIoHAEL MCCORMICK, citizens of the United States, residing at Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRoad-Carts; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side View of our improved roadcart. Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the front end of the carrying-springs, showing the manner of their attachment to the transverse bar, to which the forward end of the body is secured. Fig. 3 is an end View of the adjustment and seatblocks, showing the attachment of the carrying-springs to the axle of the cart. Fig. at is a vertical cross-section of the same, taken on the plane indicated by the dotted line m as of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side view of the shaft attachment to the axle of the cart. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section of the same, taken on the line 3 y of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a top View of the same. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of a part of our invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the body of the cart, the rear or seat end of which is firmly bolted to the upper arm of the carrying-springs 2 and the front end of which rests upon the transverse bar 7, which is sol-.

idly attached thereto, the said transverse bar being connected to the front end of the lower arm'of the carrying-springs by means of the suspension-links 13.

The carrying-springs 2 are clipped to the axle 3, which is supported upon wheels in the ordinary manner. A small cylindrical block or segment 9 is bolted to the lowerside of the lower arm of the carrying-springs, which rests in a concave shoe 10. The bottom of said shoe is channeled outand rests upon the axle. as shown in Fig. 4, the whole being clipped together and to the axle by bolts and straps in the usual manner.

The cylindrical spring-blocks 9 and the concave shoes 10 are adapted to form a ready means for the proper adjustment of the body of the cart upon the axle in its relation to the height of the horse,and as the contact-surfaces thereof are plain and nottoothed or corrugated, as has been the case heretofore, the adjustment can be made to the exact. point desired.

The shafts 4 are attached to the axle by means of the spring-plates 5, whichare bolted to the top of the shafts and clipped to the top of the axle, as shown in Fig. 5. The said spring-plates are re-enforced by washer-plates 8, the length of which serves to determine the stiffness or elasticity of the connection the said spring-plates are bent downward in rear of the axle, the bent ends being perforated and provided with short tubes 12. The said tubes are adapted to receive and support the ends of the lower spring-plates 6, whichextend and pass through the tubes 12. The said extended ends are round and are provided with leather washers 11, which fit into the said tubes and are 'adaptedto slide therein and to prevent rattling. The leather washers are pressed and held solid together between collars upon the spring-plate by means of the screw-n ut upon the end. It will be seen that as the leathencovered ends can neither lift nor drop in the tubes the motion of the shafts will cause the plates to spring between the ends of the shafts and the tubes, and will thus supplement the action of the upper spring-plates, and that the arrangement and combination described will form a firm and yet flexible connection of the shafts to the.

' a free horizontal movement to the ends of the springs. This is found to be essential, for without this free movement the strains arising from the sudden compression and relaxation under load to which the springs are subjected cause them to break, and which is obviated thereby. Y

WVe are aware that suspension-links are the ordinary mode of attachment for carriagesprings, and are therefore not broadly new; but heretofore in the construction of roadcarts the form of carrying-springs herein adopted has been given a horizontal movement by other but inadequate and defective means.

We are also aware that to adjust the body of the cart upon the axle by means of cylindrical or segmental blocks interposed between the springs and axle is not broadly new; but heretofore such blocks have been toothed or corrugated, and only capable of adjustment from one tootlr to another, making it necessary also to separate the parts sufficient to permit the points of the teeth or corrugations to pass each other, while ours, being plainfaced blocks resting in plain-faced concave seats or sockets, may beadj-usted with greater facility and accuracy.

Having described-our invention, we claim- 1. In a road-cart, the combination of the axle 3, the shafts 4, the top springplates 5, the rear ends of which are bent downward and perforated, as described, and provided with tubes l2,inserted therein,the said springplates being solidly bolted to the shafts and clipped to the axle, the spring-washer plates 8, adapted to stiffen and re-enforce the said spring-plates, and the lower spring-plates 6, one end of which is bolted to the shafts and the other end of which is made round and covered with leather or other suitable material, to prevent rattling, and is inserted in said tubes and adapted to slide horizontally therein, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a road-cart, the combination comprising the body 1, the carrying-springs 2, the upper arms ofsaid springs being solidly attached to said body and the lower arms pivotally connected thereto by means of the transverse bar 7 and the suspension-links 13, the cylindrical adjustment-blocks 9, solidly attached to the carrying-springs, the adj ustnient-bloek shoes 10,. the said adjustmentblocks and shoes, and the carrying springs adapted to be clipped together and to the axle of the cart, the axle 3, the shafts 4, the upper springplates 5, solidly attached to the shafts and clipped to the axle and provided with the downward-bent ends, and tubes 12 inserted therein, the lower spring-plates 6,attached to the shafts and provided with the leathercovered ends 11, which are adapted to slide horizontally in the said tubes, the washer-spring plates 8, the supporting-straps 16, and braces 15, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

-WILLIAM H. WVHITFIELD. I MICHAEL LWIGCORMICK. Witnesses: M. B. MILL R, LE. VAN BENDER. 

